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Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Soft. Chocolate chip. Cookies. Enough said, right? This right here is the quickest yet most valuable recipe post you may read all day. Pin it, print it out and stick it to your fridge, memorise it's content and repeat it daily as your spiritual mantra... This dang cookie recipe is the stuff and let me tell you- incredibly easy to make and even easier to devour!

As you all know, I enjoy a good stroll through the pages of Pinterest and upon a recent indulgence I found several sweet treat recipes to try out, in search of the most adaptable and satisfying of biscuits, something good enough to eat before it even hits the oven... The soft cookie! I took upon myself the hardship of testing out these recipes, the things I do for you dearest of readers... and eventually created from my findings this most basic yet scrumptious plan:

- Mix into a bowl both sugars and the soft/ melted butter until smooth.
- Add to this the egg and the vanilla and combine together.
- Next it's time to add in the flour, salt and bicarb stirring this together until you reach a dough.
- Using clean hands (duh), throw in your chocolate chunks and squeeze the mixture together into a large ball.
- Get the oven warmed up and ready to go at a temperature of 175 degrees and while you're at it line a tray with baking paper.
- Whilst eating a substantial amount of the cookie dough divide this ball into two then make six smaller balls from each half making 12 satisfyingly sized cookies once done. There are no rules here friends, you can make 6 whopping great big ones or more dinky sized treats if that's what you're feeling.
- Pop your tray of evenly spaced cookie dough balls (or whats left of the mixture), into the oven for 9-11 minutes but not one second more. Have trust in the cookie gods and despite the dough seeming not quite done, whack them out and leave them to cool (treating yourself to a gooey one as the rest do their thing).
- Pour yourself a glass of milk/ hot chocolate/ cookie munching beverage of choice and proceed to scoff the lot!

As I mentioned, this is a super simple recipe with huge potential to get creative adding exciting flavour combinations such as sea salt and caramel chunks, try chopping up a Terry's chocolate orange or add hazelnuts for some crunch! The options are plentiful but please be warned, if you as much as think of putting a raisin anywhere near your cookie dough we can no longer be friends. I'm kidding of course. I'm really not. But mostly, have fun baking them and enjoy yourself a little pick me up as the days get shorter and the frost creeps ever closer!

Sunday, 2 October 2016

There are bustling Sunday markets, indulgent foodie fairs and rocking summer festivals; add to the lively atmospheric elements of these exciting events a hearty dose of creative energy and you have The Handmade Fair, presented by the DIY queen herself Kirsty Allsopp. This yearly feast of all things crafty is held in the wondrous grounds of Hampton Court Palace, impossible to miss with it's bunting held high and buzzing hive of fellow makers uniting.

This was my first year attending the event and boy was I not disappointed. Albeit a rocky start to the day arriving upon London with a wake of destruction in our path, it was the day of the unfortunate train accident leaving the entire transport network in chaos for the whole weekend, ALSO making us miss our very first (and highly anticipated) workshop... This did not discourage our excitement though, as we commiserated the loss of our tote printing session by partaking in several of the ridiculously scrumptious food vans (hello deliciously rich coffee and pastries!)

Of course, what would a handmade fair be without a little DIY action? Throughout the day there were continuous workshops available to sign up to (ahead of time or on the day), including a class that we found fascinating- wire flower making, something neither my mum or I had ever tried before, hilarity and naughty school children giggles sang from our corner of the tent but resulted in some seriously epic flower pins and a want / need to run off and start creating things immediately!

There were also talks throughout the day in the Super Theatre, we signed up in advance to the talk with Kirsty Allsopp and Patrick Grant and boy am I glad we did as it was the quickest sold out feature of the weekend, I wonder why... We enjoyed hearing about Patrick's background and his unusual route to tailoring, he offered some great advice to young sewers and was inspiring in his humility and proves that if you have enough gumption and drive that you can achieve all kinds of goals and Kirsty was, of course, her usual witty, stylish self!

All in all it was a fantastic day, inspiring, fun and yes a little tiring after running about like a hyperactive child on Christmas morning (sorry mum), but I can't recommend treating yourself to a ticket enough and will be first in line to attend next year! My top tips for making the most of your visit would be to avoid booking the first workshop of the day (just in case) // travel light but do take a roll up tote bag or two for all your goodies // get involved in the spontaneous free workshops scattered about the grounds but sign up early to avoid full classes // wear comfy shoes but do feel free to spice up the rest of your outfit, you are among fellow eccentrics so go bonkers if you please! // Check the weather before you go, this is still England and we were super grateful of our brolly but even more so of the free plastic, log flume ponchos they were handing out. I styled the crap out of mine with frizzy drizzle hair and a shit tonne of sass // but mostly, soak up the atmosphere and ENJOY!

Keep your eyes peeled for a follow up post containing the goodies I scored on the day and for more info on my favourite exhibitors at the event!